seen-it: Slumdog Millionaire

Circumstances mean I actually got a rare night out at the cinema with just MA.

What an awesome film - definitely worthy of all it's accolades. Hard hitting, challenging, poignant, entertaining, uplifting all at the same time.

Really don't understand the BBFC ratings though. This was a 15, but trailers beforehand were for films rated 12 which seemed to focus exclusively on guns, violence & menace. Yet here's a film which contained very little bad language, violence but not in the least bit gratuitous or gory (it was nice to be left to use our imagination on some of the scenes), a love interest with NO sex what-so-ever!, and a message where honesty, integrity, faithfulness & hope prevail - yet this is a 15! Go figure.

The scenes of slum life were thoroughly sobering & depressing. They certainly give an appreciation of the rule of law and of economic justice & fair play that we have as our cultural foundation and our inheritance. Got me thinking how would you ever lift a country out of such a malaise, and also how quickly/easily it would be to sink into one. It does get you wondering where God's grace & mercy are in such circumstances.

This is cinema at it's best. Both MA & I enjoyed it - harrowing & uplifting. What more could you want?!

seen-it: Mamma Mia!

Well it's been the film sensation of the last year so had to watch it!

We'd actually seen the Comic Relief parody of it first, and watching the film it was hard not to believe we still weren't watching the parody! After we'd realised we weren't meant to be taking it too seriously the shock at it's crassness passed. Basically, lots of fantastic ABBA songs joined together by tenuous links. But hey, great music, big name and lots of silliness. Harmless entertainment - though even in 'harmless' entertainment it's amazing how many insidious messages come across ... inconsequential casual sex, marriage redundant, gay equality etc.

Couldn't help thinking of Spice World. Interesting that Spice World is in the IMDB bottom 100 of all time, yet Mamma Mia! is up there with the best but the only differences are the high profile of the cast and the music. Both light hearted, self parodying entertainment. Maybe Spice World is worth another view to see if my memory isn't serving me justice!

seen-it: Indianna Jones & the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Finally got round to letting JE view this after he won the box set a year ago.

Must be my 4th or 5th viewing at least and it's still entertaining. It's also amazing just how much of the plot I seem to have forgot each time!

Our hesitation in letting JE watch it any sooner was because on vetting it we'd forgotten just how much shocking content there was and feared nightmares. Well, despite shielding him from the final face-melting scene, he still had nightmares that night! And the plot was just a little too complex for him to follow un-aided. [Also forgot about the couple of swearing incidents ... not picked up on thankfully].

He's seen "Last Crusade" already (least gruesome) and he won't be watching "Temple of Doom" at all - a bad film and far too dark/scary. Don't think he'll be too bothered about seeing "Raiders" again for quite a while. But thankfully, it's not a chore even after so many times.

seen it: Goldfinger

First film of 2009. Promised JE I'd introduce him to James Bond over the Christmas break, so thought I'd start with a classic.

JE, AJ & EJ all watched quite attentively much to my surprise, and actually comprehended far more than I thought. Quite easy to explain in terms of 'goodies & baddies'.

Having watched Quantom of Solace just a month ago, re-watching this classic made me realise how far they'd left the James Bond trademarks behind (gadgets, puns, womanising!). And I could comprehend the plot of this one too.

Obviously there was a lot of stuff that seemed incredibly dated. But the innocence and simplicity of it all was enjoyable. Interestingly, the scene of James forcing himself on Pussy Galore(!) was something that seemed quite shocking now.

The appearance of the 'shooting woman' half-way is all a bit random. Other than the fact that she is the sister of 'Jill' (I think that was her name ... the iconic 'gold woman' on the bed), the scenes with her in are completely superfluous to the plot & a bit incongruous.